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M16 – Eagle Nebula (NGC 6611)

Request for feedback Deep Sky M16 Nebula
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Jonah Slater avatar
Jonah Slater avatar
IMG_2025-08-02-154205.jpeg
Title: M16 – Eagle Nebula (RedCat 51 + ASI585MC Pro)

 

Description:

Captured the Eagle Nebula (M16) from a Bortle 5 site, imaging toward a Bortle 7 city glow. Equipment included a William Optics RedCat 51 paired with a ZWO ASI585MC Pro on a Celestron AVX mount, guided with an OAG and guide camera.

  • Total Integration: 3.75 hours
  • Subexposures: 3 min each @ Gain 252
  • Calibration Frames: 50 darks, 20 flats, 30 bias
  • Acquisition Software: N.I.N.A.
  • Processing: GraXpert → Siril → Photoshop



 

 

I’d appreciate constructive critique on:

  • Star shape and sharpness across the frame
  • Color balance (especially in the hydrogen emission)
  • Noise reduction and fine detail in the pillars



 

 

Feedback on processing approach or ways to improve future captures is welcome! l
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dummieastro avatar
dummieastro avatar
Hi Jonah, Good start. First do five more hours of integration. The added data will be worth the time and give you better data to process.   A little BlurXterminator for the stars. 

CS,
Bob
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Tony Gondola avatar
Tony Gondola avatar
Same here, not enough exposure time. Also, the stars look a little soft, maybe it's focus or maybe they just need a bit of deconvolution.
The0s avatar
The0s avatar
Like others have said, it needs more exposure time - still lots of noise, more than most software can handle well. The cores of the brightest stars appear blown out - did you stretch them separately? Some stars seem to have dark rings around them - maybe back off the deconvolution a little and see if that helps. Otherwise, focus looks sharp and the detail in the Pillars is pretty good.

As a final note, I'd also mirror the image horizontally - the orientation is off right now (just take a look at how the Pillars look in the HST image).
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